Halloween Stories 2
by SilverTurtle
Summary: These are the one-shots I wrote for Tricks and Treats: The 2011 Halloween Collection.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** _These are the two stories I contributed to the **Tricks and Treats: The 2011 Halloween Collection** that I'm finally uploading to my profile here. As is standard for me these two stories contain femslash. These are also far less gruesome than the 2010 set. I hope you enjoy them._

**A GOOD PLAN AND A LITTLE MAGIC**

*****'*****

Jessica carefully packed away her crystals and herbs, rolling them gently in the piece of black velvet that made up the largest part of her mage kit. Once her tools were properly stored in her suitcase she packed her clothing and other essentials. It would be a long flight from England to Kansas, where London Tipton had decided to hold her annual Halloween bash on the Pickett farm, but Jessica was excited for the trip. It had been several years since she'd had the pleasure of the company of her American friends. Her career had taken her all over the globe and further out of contact with almost all of them but London had kept her number citing that it never hurt to have a few more famous friends and that one never knows when having an international super model on speed dial could come in useful.

Though she was eager to meet up with all of her friends again she was most excited to be seeing one in particular: Bailey. The two had hit it off immediately upon meeting. Though Cody thought they'd spent much the time fighting over him, believing himself worth the jealousy and believing them full of such silly pettiness, but they'd actually gotten along famously and discovered a host of shared interests and compatible personality traits. Bailey had quickly become Jessica's dearest friend and the two had spent many hours in conversations with one another. Their friendship had been maintained through the years with letters, emails, phone calls, Skyping, and the very occasional visit (usually Jessica went to Bailey as Bailey's drive to improve the family farm, and in so doing improving farming as a whole, prevented her from traveling much outside of work). As they had grown closer Jessica realized her feelings for the young Kansas native had developed well beyond friendship. If she were being completely honest with herself she'd say she'd fallen a little bit in love with her friend but she wasn't in the habit of being quite that honest. She would admit to an attraction and a deep compatibility but dare not confess to anything more.

Shaking herself from her musings she got back to the task at hand. When her suitcase was packed she lugged it out of her room and downstairs before calling back up a different set of stairs, "Janice! Have you finished packing yet?"

Though the twins were adults and each independently wealthy enough to afford their own homes they'd found themselves much happier when living together so they'd bought a home, nearly a mansion, they could comfortably share without always being under one another's feet but still provide the comfort and security of companionship. The ground floor held all the traditional utility rooms and the rooms for entertaining company while the upper floor had been split down the middle and converted into two large master suites that were entirely separate and could only be accessed via the different staircases. The arrangement granted each young woman the privacy they craved and the company they needed.

"No! Come up," her sister commanded and Jessica obeyed only rolling her eyes a little.

"What is it?" she asked as she breezed into her sister's rooms.

"I don't know what costume to bring!" Janice wailed quietly as she indicated four different bagged costumes laid out on her bed.

Jessica raised her eyebrow and grinned wickedly, "I thought we were going as witches?"

Janice favored her sister with a sardonic look, "I know _you_ think you're being subversive and wildly clever dressing as a witch on Halloween, but I find it just a tad silly given that we actually _are_ witches."

"Hmph," Jessica crossed her arms, "Well, then, what are your other options?"

"Classic Harry Potter style robes complete with wand and house scarf," Janice began while lifting the bagged costume as she spoke of it, "Mary Poppins with bag and umbrella, traditional but extremely dull witch, and this bobby outfit with collapsible nightstick."

"And you complain of me not being clever," Jessica said, "What's so clever about a Brit going as a Hogwarts student, hm?"

Janice stuck her tongue out at her before putting the mentioned costume up in her closet. "Very well, and the others?"

"You're already dead set against dressing as a witch, so that one is out as well," Jessica mused as she put that costume in the closet. "Which leaves going as a bobby or Mary Poppins."

Janice looked between her choices clearly conflicted, "What do you think?"

"I think," Jessica smiled, "That the Americans would be delighted to have a truly British Mary Poppins in their midst."

Janice smiled back, "Yes, I think you're right." She managed to fit the costume in her suitcase and zipped it up.

"You remembered your mage kit, right?" Jessica asked, "Just in case?"

"The very first thing I packed," Janice confirmed, "just like I know it was the first thing you packed."

Jessica inclined her head in confirmation and began walking out the door. "Well, if that's it then, we'd best be on our way."

Janice muscled her suitcase off her bed and followed her sister down the stairs and out their door to meet their waiting cab.

***'***

One overseas flight from London to new York, a secondary flight from New York to Kansas, and a lengthy car ride later and they were making the turn onto the Pickett farm's driveway. Thanks to a call made an hour before the Picketts knew they were coming and Bailey waited on the porch with a smile on her face as they drove up under the mid-morning sunlight.

Jessica took a long moment to study Bailey and liked what she saw. The young woman had developed a trim and subtly muscular figure, doubtless from her work here on the farm, which bore a solid and confident air that Jessica found indescribably attractive. Her skin was tanned from hours under the sun though it lacked the rough weathered look farmers often had. Jessica took in the worn blue jeans, comfortable looking boots, and fitted plaid shirt Bailey wore and mentally approved of how decidedly fit it all made her friend look.

Stepping out of the car they were greeted in Bailey's cheerful voice, her accent a little more prominent due to her time at home, "Long time no see!"

"Too long," Jessica agreed as she stepped up to her friend and wrapped her in a hug. "It's so good to see you."

"Mhm," Bailey agreed, giving Jessica a squeeze then releasing her, "It's nice to see you in person instead of on a magazine cover."

Jessica heard Janice laugh behind her and then say, "Did you see the GQ shoot she modeled for?"

Bailey blushed bright red, "I may have seen one or two pages from that."

That made Jessica blush, too. That shoot had been a particularly salacious one. It wasn't that the clothes showed off any more of her body than she was comfortable with but she'd been posed in extremely suggestive ways both alone and with other models. She knew that magazine's reputation and hadn't wanted to do the shoot, but since she'd become a minor television celebrity and two of her co-stars had posed for this same magazine she couldn't talk her manager out of it. It wasn't work she looked on with any particular pride but it wasn't work she'd be ashamed of either.

Janice snickered and that brought Jessica out of her thoughts and she lightly swatted her sister's stomach. "Wicked beast," she teased as Janice merely stuck out her tongue.

"Well, we've got a room ready for you two," Bailey informed them, "That is, if you don't mind sharing for the few days you're here?"

The twins communicated with just a look and shrugged at the same time, "Of course we don't mind."

"Great!" Bailey clapped. She reached out and picked up one of the two suitcases and gestured for them to follow, "I'll get the other bag after I show you to your room. I'm sure you want to sleep off a little of your jet lag."

Both nodded in agreement and trudged after her to their room.

Bailey left them there to get the other bag and when she returned they were already asleep in their respective beds. She set the bag down quietly, closed the door, and left them to rest.

***'***

When Jessica woke it was dark outside. She frowned when she realized she must have slept most of the day and wasted the opportunity to spend more time with Bailey. She looked to the other bed and saw Janice was already out and about. She made use of the en-suite bathroom to freshen up and then made her way downstairs.

"-and London had us design a corn maze in the shape of her face big enough to see from the Tipton Space Station," Jessica heard Bailey telling her sister when she came to the bottom of the stairs and turned towards the living room. "We had to rent out a couple of the neighboring farms to pull it off but we did it. London's face in all its corn stalk glory."

Jessica silently slid up and looked over Bailey's and Janice's shoulders to see the photo Bailey was showing, obviously taken from the same space station Bailey had just mentioned. "Goodness!" she exclaimed, making both other women jump, "how long did that take to design?"

Bailey, hand still pressed over her heart from startlement, answered, "About two weeks to set the design. But it took several months to rent out the other farms and get the right corn planted in the right places. London and I have been planning this since last year."

"It's quite remarkable," Janice said while studying the picture.

"Yes," Jessica agreed with a smile, "It looks just like her. You should be proud."

Bailey smiled back and blushed a little, "Well, it wasn't just me. We had a lot of help from the other farmers. Even old Mr. Weevil helped out."

Jessica, having heard many tales of Mr. Weevil's generally intractable nature, was duly impressed. "So, what else have I missed while I slept?"

Janice shrugged while Bailey said, "You weren't down for that long. It gets dark early here around winter time. It's around six now. People ought to be arriving for the party soon. Momma made some supper for all of us. Why don't we eat and then get into costume."

The twins agreed and they all trooped into the kitchen to eat with Bailey's parents, three younger sisters, and grandmother.

***'***

An hour later knocking started at the door and guests were arriving in droves. Many of their masked faces making it impossible to tell who was in what costumes. It appeared, though, that London had invited every person she'd ever met.

Janice and Jessica were still getting dressed upstairs. Well, Janice was still getting dressed and Jessica was helping her. Apparently the Mary Poppins costume was time period accurate and required a bit of lacing up and buttoning down. Jessica's own mostly shapeless black robe and black hat had simply required finding the correct holes to stuff herself through and she'd been done in moments.

Jessica waited for Janice to finish putting the final touches on her makeup and glanced around the mess Janice had managed to make of the room. She began to tidy, putting Janice's things back in order and in her bag, when her hands met another costume package. "Jan," she asked, "what is this?"

Janice poked her head out of the bathroom and grinned when she saw what her sister held, "That's your other costume."

"What?" Jessica scoffed, "I don't need another costume. The one I'm wearing is just fine."

Janice finished up and stepped fully out of the restroom, "Trust me, Jess, you'll be in that costume before the end of the night."

Jessica looked down at the sailor's outfit in her hands and tossed it onto her bed, "Not likely."

Janice shrugged, "Believe what you will. But I know you'll be in that costume sooner or later."

Jessica eyed her sister suspiciously, "What have you done?"

"What have I done?" Janice parroted back innocently, "Why, nothing. I'm completely innocent."

"You brought along a second costume for me, that doesn't speak well to your innocence." Jessica pointed out.

"Perhaps I just know something you don't," Janice turned her nose up, grabbed her umbrella and carpet bag, and escaped the room before Jessica could question her any further.

Jessica took one last glance at the sailor costume before shaking her head and closing the door behind her as she left.

***'***

They arrived downstairs to a party in full swing spilling out of the house, across the yard, and deeply into the corn fields.

Jessica didn't see Bailey, or anyone else she knew, and so she made her way to the snacks table for some bubbling green punch she'd seen one of Bailey's sisters making after dinner. The drink was pleasantly alcoholic and Jessica felt it warm her with each sip she took. She had drunk down two cups of it as she people watched, delighting in the costumes the guests had come arrayed in.

Her eyes scanned the crowd and finally picked out London dressed seductively as Cleopatra in gold and linens with elaborate jewelry and kohl lined eyes. Jessica vacated the snacks table with a third glass of punch in hand and made her way over to the beaming heiress.

"London!"

London turned her head slowly, regally, and smiled even more widely than she had been before. "Jessica! It's so good to see you!" London squealed a bit and grabbed Jessica in a quick hug, "I'm glad Janice already came to see me, I'd have never been able to tell you apart if you'd approached me at the same time."

They both chuckled over that before Jessica said, "It looks like you've got a successful party on your hands."

London preened, "Of course it's a success. It's a London Tipton party!"

Jessica smiled, "Has Bailey shown you the photo of the corn maze taken by the Tipton Space Station?"

London clapped her hands and bounced a little, reminiscent of the way she'd done as a teen, "She did! It looks just like me!"

"It does," Jessica agreed, "It was a fantastic idea."

London nodded, "And it's good marketing. It cost a lot to set up, but the photos of it in every major paper across the country got the Tipton name out there in a big way and will cover the expense three times over."

Jessica smiled, "Well played, London. That was an excellent bit of advertisement."

London puffed up a little with pride, "Thank you, I thought it was too."

Jessica saw many guests queuing to speak with London and excused herself saying, "I won't keep you from your other guests any longer. Congratulations on this roaring success. Happy Halloween, London."

"Happy Halloween, Jess," London said as she hugged her, "Thanks for coming." Jessica hugged back and then stepped away. She was turning to go when London called her back, "Janice told me about your other costume. You'll want to put it on before I start judging the costume contest. What you're wearing now does you no justice and I'm a sucker for paired costumes."

Before Jessica could inform London that she had no one to pair her costume with the heiress was whisked into a boisterous conversation with a handful of other celebrities.

Jessica mingled among the party-goers for a while making conversation and new contacts, while keeping an eye out for people she knew. She'd spotted Zack dressed as the Big Bad Wolf to his girlfriend's Red Riding Hood. Cody had come dressed as Einstein, though most thought he was just dressed as a mad scientist. She'd seen Miss Tutweiller, dressed as Jessica Rabbit, on the arm of a woman dressed as a cheerleader and having a conversation with Mr. Moseby, who was dressed as the White Rabbit. Carey Martin was having a blast with Arwin, the two costumed as Frankenstein's Monster and the Bride of Frankenstein. Kurt Martin was living it up as the King, Elvis Presley. She'd seen a woman, Addison she thought, dressed as a mime and holding a mostly silent conversation with another woman who'd come as Xena. She'd seen Bailey's parents dressed as the Wizard and Glinda the Good with their three youngest daughters dressed as the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion, and the Scarecrow (they'd dressed their pet pig as Dorothy and had a stuffed dog velcroed to its back to be Toto). There were plenty of green-faced wicked witches, some Robin Hoods, and a whole host of superheroes and comic book characters. There was even a group of people who'd attended dressed as characters from a cartoon show; Rugrats, Jessica thought it was called.

All of that and she still hadn't laid eyes on Bailey. She wondered if Bailey was wearing a mask over her face and that's why she couldn't see her. She could hardly believe that she'd forgotten to ask what Bailey intended to dress as for this party.

***'***

She looked up from her sixth glass of punch in time to watch Janice leap from the top of a stack of hay bales with her umbrella open above her and float gently to the ground to the amusement of crowd of onlookers. Jessica knew, instantly, that Janice had enchanted her umbrella. And when she saw Janice begin pulling things from her carpet bag she knew that had been enchanted too. Shaking her head in wry amusement at her sister's antics she laughed and hoped Janice could convince her adoring fans that it was all some great trick of the light.

***'***

Later she wandered into the corn maze with a map in hand, amused that she'd be walking all over London's face. In her slightly drunken haze, eight mugs of punch beginning to take their toll, she had forgotten to bring a flashlight into the maze with her and as a consequence gotten herself well and truly lost. She sighed at herself in annoyance and tugged her crystal necklace from beneath her robe. She whispered a soft command into the stone and it glowed brightly enough that she could use it to light her way. Her map was now quite useless and she tucked it into her pocket as she continued to wander. She popped out from between a row of corn stalks and found herself at what must have been the edge of the property given the barbed wire fence she was suddenly pressed against. She turned to re-enter the corn maze and heard a horrendous ripping sound. She looked down at herself and found her robe neatly torn in two, half snagged on the barbed wire and half dangling limply off her shoulders.

"Bugger this," she growled and yanked the robe off the fence. She wadded the whole lot into a ball and tucked it under her arm then threw herself back into the maze. Irritation and a beginning sense of panic working to sober her up. She held her crystal before her to light her way but she was still lost. She pulled the map out of her pocket and laid it flat on the ground. She crouched over it and dangled the crystal above it to scry for her location. Once she'd found herself on the map she was able to use it to guide her way out. She made sure to call the light out of her crystal before she emerged from the maze with her ruined robe in hand.

Janice caught sight of her as soon as she stepped out of the maze and laughed. "Had a bit of an ordeal in there, did you?" she asked as she pulled the split fabric out of her sister's hands and stuffed it into her enchanted carpet bag. She led Jessica behind a stack of hay bales for privacy and said a spell which called the sailor costume from their room and made it materialize in her hands, "Well, go on and put this on then. Can't have you wandering about without a costume."

Jessica once more eyed her sister with suspicion, "I'm not convinced of your innocence in all of this."

"Nonsense," Janice said agreeably, "I couldn't have possibly done a thing to make any of this happen. So what if I brought an extra costume? Or the punch was particularly irresistible to you? Or you somehow 'forgot' to take a torch into the maze and got lost? It wasn't all part of some grand scheme of mine. No, indeed."

Jessica laughed, "You are wicked, Jan. Did you use a befuddlement charm on me? How'd you manage to put it on without my noticing?"

Janice smiled while she helped her sister into her new costume, "You, sister dear, sleep like the dead." She stuffed all of Jessica's regular clothes into her carpet bag and surveyed her sister with a pleased air about her.

Now arrayed in her new blue sailor's costume, tailored beautifully to her size courtesy of her sister's planning, she had to admit it was a wonderful choice in costume. The outfit was a classic United States naval uniform of a 1940s style complete with white cap and black shoes. It hung off her in a way that made her gender indeterminate, only her long hair and painted nails gave her away. "Well, while I'm not pleased about you using magic on me I do have to say this was a rather splendid choice in costume on your part."

Janice smiled, "It wasn't entirely my idea."

Jessica furrowed her brow, "What do you mean?"

Janice was saved from answering by London's voice projecting over speakers placed strategically all over the farm, "Okay, boys and ghouls, it's time for the costume contest! Contestants will come up on the stage when I call your names and let everybody see your costumes!"

"Oh! Come on!" Janice grabbed her sister's hand and dragged her back out into the crowd and towards the stage.

London started calling people's names, some individuals, some pairs, some groups, all eliciting pleased cheering from the crowd. London would occasionally make a note on her cards while looking everyone over with a critical eye. The more famous guests getting snapshots taken by the press all of London's events attracted.

Suddenly Jessica's name was called and she looked to her sister in shock, "I didn't enter this contest!"

"Nope," Janice grinned, Jessica's exclamation had covered the announcement of her partner's name, "I entered it for you. Now get up there!" She slapped her sister's back and shoved her towards the stage.

Jessica felt a tingle in her spine when Janice slapped her, but dismissed it as she dazedly climbed the steps to the stage and met a smiling London, who whispered "much better" to her, and a nervous Bailey. Jessica felt her jaw drop as she finally saw Bailey in her costume, one well matched to her own. Bailey was dressed all in white as a nurse from the same era Jessica's own uniform had come from with her hair curled and coiffed under her own white cap in a style appropriate for the costume. Bailey smiled hesitantly as Jessica approached and took a single step closer and somehow tripped (Jessica suspected Janice's hand at work). Acting quickly Jessica moved to catch her and overbalanced but she caught herself and Bailey coming to a stop in a pose almost an exact duplicate of one of the most iconic images of World War II, one known by many titles but most frequently as _The Kiss_. The action was seamless and looked as though they'd planned it all along even though it was a total accident (unless Jessica's suspicions about Janice's witchery prove true).

Looking down into Bailey's eyes as they held onto each other for balance Jessica once more felt that tingle in her spine and couldn't resist the temptation. She sealed her mouth to Bailey's, kissing for all she was worth, and completed the image to the deafening cheers of the crowd and punctuated by the flashbulbs of the photographers.

She didn't want to stop but London's amused commentary and the sudden awareness that in front of a crowd of hundreds of people was not the way she'd wanted to have her first kiss with Bailey eventually prevailed over her sensory overload and she pulled away with one last nip at Bailey's lips. Flushed and breathless the two young women left the stage hand-in-hand to the hooting and applause of the crowd.

They passed Janice on the way down, her twin making her way up the stairs to showcase her own costume, and Jessica heard her laughingly say "You're welcome" in a sing-song voice. Jessica simultaneously felt the urge to slap and hug her sister but settled for rolling her eyes and finding she and Bailey some privacy.

"So," Bailey chewed on her lip, "that was...something, huh?"

Jessica chuckled self-deprecatingly, "It certainly was that. Bailey," Jessica turned serious and apologetic eyes on the other woman, "I'm sorry about that. I had no idea-"

Bailey interrupted, "Janice didn't tell you?"

Jessica tilted her head, "Tell me what?"

Bailey covered her mouth with her hand and groaned. She dropped her hand, "I thought you knew!"

"Knew what?" Janice asked, baffled.

Bailey rubbed her temples and took a deep breath. She reached out and caught Jessica's hands in her own, "Janice and I planned all this. She said she'd tell you."

Jessica shook her head, "She didn't tell me a thing. Rarely does, the wicked thing. So this was all a plot?" she asked. "The party?"

Bailey nodded.

"The costumes?"

Another nod.

"The contest?"

Again, Bailey nodded.

Then, hesitantly, "The kiss?"

Bailey licked her lips, looked directly into Jessica's eyes, and deliberately shook her head. "I'd hoped," Bailey whispered, "I've wanted to for a long time, but I wasn't sure if you-"

"I've wanted to," Jessica confessed, cutting Bailey off, "I think I've always wanted to."

Bailey bit her lip again and smiled bashfully, "So..."

"So?" Jessica queried.

"So, maybe we could try that again?" Bailey offered, "Without the audience?"

Jessica grinned, "Smashing idea."

Without further ado the two came together in a much less public but no less passionate embrace. Years of suppressed desire pouring between them and making their hearts race. This was much more in keeping with what Jessica had wished their first kiss would be.

Oblivious to the world around them, lost in one another, they missed the rest of the contest and Janice taking the prize for her costume with Woody as her chimney sweep.

***'***

When they finally managed to separate the party was winding down.

Jessica pulled them back out into the real world so Bailey could say farewell to her guests, which didn't take as long as she thought it might. The sun was just peeking over the horizon by the time they managed to drag themselves into the house for some rest.

Before they parted company to rest in their respective rooms Bailey took Jessica by the hand again and placed a chaste kiss to her lips, whispering "Happy Halloween" against them and disappearing into her room.

Jessica practically floated into the room she and Janice shared and flopped happily onto her back on her bed.

"Good night, Jess?" Janice teasingly asked, looking at her sister's completely enamored expression.

"The best," Jessica breathed out. "Thanks, Jan, for all of this."

Janice smiled, her plan had come together beautifully with the help of just a smidgeon of magic and had worked even better than she'd supposed. Satisfied, instead of smugly giving her sister an I-told-you-so, she contented herself with saying, "Happy Halloween, Jess."

"Happy Halloween." Jessica replied, nearly drifting off.

Janice was almost asleep herself when Jessica's voice floated over to her, "And no more casting magic on me. Nearly made a drunken mess of myself."

Janice snorted, "I won't have to magic you now you and Bailey are finally on the same page. Now I won't have to listen to you pine for one another."

Jessica laughed, "No, now you get to listen to us moon over one another instead."

Janice groaned for her sister's benefit but she was smiling as she fell asleep.

**THE END**

*****'*****

_**A/N: **_**The Kiss****_ is a real image taken by photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt. It can be found under the titles _V-J Day in Times Square_, _V-Day_, and _The Kiss_. Google image search and wikipedia will find it for those of you interested in seeing._**


	2. Chapter 2

**A GODDESS' DUTY**

"But I don't want to go to Egypt!" Emma Tutweiller heard the petulant voice of one of her only remaining students, London Tipton, raised above Mr. Moseby's more reasonable tones. Her ears had pricked at the mentioning of Egypt and something within her, some other self, breathed a content sigh and woke in her a fierce longing as the word 'home' echoed in her mind in response.

"London, your father wants you to take in some culture. View the pyramids at Giza and the other monuments to the pharaohs and gods."

"Why would I want to go look at a bunch of big rocks built for a bunch of dead guys?" London sneered, "It's hot, sandy, and doesn't have any decent shopping!" Considering that London considered 'decent shopping' the type of thing where she dropped several thousand dollars on a single clothing item no one took her too seriously on that last point.

Emma turned the corner and finally saw London squaring off with her guardian, a flush high in her cheeks as she argued against this plan. Mr. Moseby had pulled out his handkerchief and was dabbing at his forehead when he caught sight of Emma and breathed a sigh of relief. "Miss Tutweiller, perfect timing. I was just telling London her father has planned a side trip for her to Egypt."

Emma smiled and nodded, "I heard that much. You know, London, the pyramids are considered some of the greatest wonders of the world."

"Don't care. Old and dirty. Not going." London crossed her arms and turned her nose up.

Mr. Moseby finally lost his temper. "Nonsense," he said firmly, "Your father has already chartered one of his helicopters to come pick you up. You're going. And you're not going to complain about it."

London's jaw dropped, "But Moseby! It's not safe!"

Giving a long suffering sigh Mr. Moseby asked, "What are you talking about, London?"

Emma listened with interest as London licked her lips and explained, "It's not safe out there with a bunch of strangers. Don't you remember what happened last year on that island?"

Emma's breath caught in her throat and her eyes welled involuntarily. Of course they all remembered what had happened last year on that cursed island. They'd lost three young men and Bailey still bore the scars of that trauma...she also still bore the machete which had saved her life and a feralness that Emma sensed went deeper than any of them knew. When they'd asked if Bailey had wanted to be sent home to Kettlecorn to recover she'd flat out refused, deciding instead to finish her schooling aboard the _S.S. Tipton_ to honor her lost friends. Emma herself had been with Bailey for every step of her recovery. It had been a hard and frustrating process and though the young woman would never be the carefree bubbly person she'd been before she was beginning to enjoy life again.

A low voice husked from somewhere among the shadows, "That only happened," Bailey swung from the rails of an upper deck to land lightly on the boards of the lower in a display of agility that had become a lot more frequent lately, her eyes bright and a bit of a growl rumbling in her throat, "because we went off the safe trails. You and the tourists were fine. Besides, we all know Mr. Moseby and your father wouldn't send you out there by yourself."

Bailey's sudden appearance had startled the group. Mr. Moseby, with a hand pressed to his chest, glared at the young woman and said, "Bailey! What have I told you about hanging from the rails like that?"

Bailey tilted her head and flashed her teeth in a smug grin, "That it's a remarkable display of athletic prowess and something the tourists are consistently fascinated by."

"Precisely," Mr. Moseby nodded, "Except the exact word I used was 'don't'." He glared for a moment longer at a very self satisfied Bailey before turning his attention back to London, "She's right though. Your father has detailed a bodyguard for you and assigned Miss Tutweiller and I to be your escorts. You're welcome to come as well, Bailey."

Bailey inclined her head, almost regally, in acceptance and said in a lighter voice more reminiscent of the teen she'd been two years ago, "I've always wanted to see the pyramids in person. They're a stunning example of human ingenuity and hieroglyphs are a bit of a hobby of mine."

"I'm still not going. There are crazy people out there and who knows what sort we'll find in Egypt!"

"But London," Emma said, "Egypt isn't some remote island. There isn't a community of cannibals there. Or any giant jungle cats." That last was said with a bit of a wistful tone. Who could forget the massive panther Bailey had slain? Emma felt the loss of such a magnificent creature as keenly as though it had been her own child, her affinity for felines extending even to that wild beast. Emma caught all three of them eying her oddly, Bailey with a bit of a curl to her lip, and shook herself out of her musings. "You'll be perfectly safe, London. We'll all be with you and you'll have the bodyguard. Egypt is no third world country like that island, the people are very cultured and I'm sure you'll find something to do to amuse yourself if the pyramids can't hold your attention." She turned her focus to Mr. Moseby, "When will the helicopter be here to pick us up?"

Mr. Moseby looked at his watch, "They'll be here in a couple hours. You all should pack for a few days. We're scheduled to stay for four days."

Bailey grabbed London's hand and pulled her away while ignoring all her protests.

Mr. Moseby and Emma separated to handle their own packing arrangements.

***'***

Emma stepped into her quarters and pulled out a light backpack and an urn she'd been keeping in a trunk. Her cats' eyes followed her movements and became more alert upon sighting the urn. It was a foot tall clay jar, smooth and heavy, topped with a carved onyx piece in the shape of a cat's head. She smiled when Mr. Whiskers and Lord Wiggums jumped onto her bed and stared at her intently. She reached out and scratched each of them behind the ears. "You know what this means?" she asked them in a soft voice.

Mr. Whiskers meowed and her other self heard beyond the sound to the meaning, "We're going home?"

Lord Wiggums lashed his tail, "Finally! It's about time we went back to a place where we're properly respected."

Emma smiled at her cats, "Yes. It'll be good to be home."

"Thirty years is a long time to be away, my lady," Mr. Whiskers reminded her, "Are you prepared to return?"

"More than prepared. Eager." Emma smiled at her cats, "I'll have my full powers under my control again."

"And figure out what's been going on with that kitten of yours?" Mr. Whiskers asked, referring to Bailey.

Emma pursed her lips and nodded, "Yes. Something has changed about her. Beyond the emotional and physical. She's become something...other. I just can't figure out what."

"A puzzle for when your powers are restored to their full strength, my lady," Lord Wiggums lashed his tail impatiently, "Are you going to open that for us or keep us waiting forever?"

Mr. Whiskers clawlessly swatted Lord Wiggums for his insolence while Emma just laughed and pried the onyx lid from her jar and placed it on its side on the floor. Mr. Whiskers and Lord Wiggums took up places on either side of the jar and supervised all of Emma's many cats streaming into the softly glowing jar until they were the only two left out. Lord Wiggums lashed his tail once as he stood and grumbled but slid easily into the jar.

"If you need us-" Mr. Whiskers began to say but was hushed by Emma's hand softly stroking his fur.

"I'll know where you are."

He gave a feline nod, rubbed against her shins, and slipped into the jar.

Emma tilted it upright and lifted it back onto the bed. "Rest well," she murmured before sealing it again and carefully putting it in her backpack. Her rooms somehow seemed much smaller without her cats laying on every available surface and she felt incredibly lonely.

She finished her packing in silence and when the time came she met the others on the helipad to board the newly arrived helicopter.

***'***

There was a bit of a struggle getting all of London's luggage in the helicopter which gave the others occasion to be very glad they had packed lightly. But Mr. Tipton, knowing his daughter, had accounted for her tendencies and sent a helicopter capable of handling her load. Once that was straightened out they all took their seats and were strapped in before taking off.

London was still sulking even as the helicopter came into view of land. But Mr. Moseby and Bailey were leaning in their seats to better see out the windows. Emma, too, looked out but less obviously so as she didn't need to see her homeland; she could feel it in her bones when they crossed into Egypt's borders.

The helicopter landed with no complications on the top of Cairo's Tipton Hotel. Porters helped them from the cabin and took control of their luggage leaving the new arrivals to follow them to their rooms.

London, of course, got a suite to herself. Emma and Bailey were to share a room with two twin beds and Mr. Moseby had a single. Thankfully, their rooms were all situated on the same floor which made planning their outings a much simpler affair than it otherwise would have been.

***'***

After two days of doing all the typical tourist activities London decided she'd had enough and commandeered her bodyguards to take her shopping and leaving the rest to fend for themselves.

Mr. Moseby was happy to take the opportunity to see how a Tipton Hotel was run in another country but even more happy to take advantage of being a V.I.P. and gleefully lounged about most of the day enjoying being waited on for once.

Emma had left before dawn, slipping quietly out of her shared room with her urn in hand while Bailey still slept, to meet her sister.

She abandoned heavily trafficked areas and took to the back roads, her memories of this city and her supernatural senses guiding her to where she needed to go. She reached a small residence, one built in an older adobe fashion which was squat and square but well kept, and rapped lightly on the door before letting herself in.

"_Welcome, Bastet_," the voice was low, smooth, warm, and feminine as it spoke in her native tongue.

Emma smiled as she recognized the form of her sister in the gloom of the darkened room. She replied in the same language, "_Sekhmet. It's good to see you._" She set her urn on a table to free her hands and embrace her sister goddess.

"_And you. What name did you choose this time?_" Sekhmet grinned as she twirled a lock of Emma's red hair in her fingers and teasingly said, "_I see by your hair that you're embracing our 'Lady of Flame' title._"

Emma laughed as she pulled Sekhmet's hand away from her hair and held it, "_Emma. Emma Tutweiller._"

Sekhmet raised a brow, "_Tut. How familiar._"

Emma just rolled her eyes and helped herself to a seat at Sekhmet's table. "_What are you calling yourself?_"

"_Sekhmet,_" her sister replied also taking a seat. "_As ever. I have a human guise only so I wouldn't upset the mortals while we're here. I don't have this peculiar urge of yours to live as humans do. One would almost think you were Greek._"

"_You know, as well as I do, that we need to stay connected to humans lest they forget us._"

Sekhmet waved her hand dismissively, "_They will not forget us. They could not. We are writ in their bones and in their histories. We need only remind them from time to time. Besides, even if we did need __to live as they do, I don't see why you have to go so far from home to do it. It's dangerous to stay away from home for too long. Unless you want to lose your immortality._"

Emma sighed, "_I'd need to be gone for many centuries for that to be a true danger. Thirty years is nothing._"

"_Long enough for Apophis to muster his armies,_" Sekhmet replied grimly.

Emma's eyes shot to her sister's and held them in an intense gaze, "_He has become a problem?_"

"_He has always been a problem,_" Sekhmet replied dryly, "_But he has gotten much more powerful without you to help subdue him and his numbers. Our great father Ra is growing concerned that Apophis will soon succeed in preventing his journey across the horizon._"

"_Impossible!_" Emma cried out in horror.

"_Not impossible. Merely unlikely,_" Sekhmet countered, then continued smugly, "_And even less likely now you're finally home. We've sorely missed your strength._"

"_Well, as you say, I'm home now and ready to aid our father._" When Emma made to stand Sekhmet waved her back down.

"_Father made it into the sky today. We have time enough to tell me what you've been doing these last thirty years._"

Emma spent the next several hours regaling her sister with stories of her time as a human, the trials and tribulations, the joys and sorrows, the mundane and the exciting. She was just describing the changes she'd noted in Bailey, whom Sekhmet could tell was a favorite of Bastet's just from how frequently the stories included her, when Sekhmet raised her hand and tilted her head.

"_I feel someone approaching. Odd, I haven't felt the aura of a warrior of this type in over a millenium,_" Sekhmet studied her confused looking sister, "_You can't feel it?_"

"_My powers are not yet at their full strength,_" Emma admitted reluctantly, "_Three days has not been enough to restore me._"

"_No matter. This one isn't fully awakened,_" Sekhmet rose from her seat and crossed to the door on silent feet. Suddenly she yanked open the door, reached out and grabbed someone, and yanked them inside all in one lightning quick motion. She pinned a squirming and snarling figure to the wall by its shoulder but hastily released it when a blade came sweeping towards her head. She snarled in fury, "_You dare!_"

"Bailey!" Emma shouted in English, stilling Sekhmet's hand and stalling Bailey's return swing.

"Miss Tutweiller," Bailey said in a loud voice that was not quite a shout. Emma noticed the teen's eyes were wild and darted about taking in her surroundings, noting her seated at the table with a jar of some sort and dismissing them as unimportant. She watched Bailey focus on Sekhmet and saw them both tense when their eyes met, startled to realize her sister obviously felt Bailey was a threat, but Bailey flashed Emma a look and begged, "What is going on? Who is this?"

Sekhmet laughed as she looked between the two and put the name Bastet had shouted to the young woman standing ready for battle before her, "_It looks as though your kitten has followed you, Bastet._"

"_She is not my kitten,_" Emma replied in the same ancient tongue her sister still spoke in, a trace of irritation clear in her tone. Bailey had tensed when Sekhmet spoke but now she just looked confused as Emma spoke the same unfamiliar language back, "_Though my vassal also called her that._" She switched back to English, "Bailey, what are you doing here? How did you find me?"

Bailey edged away from Sekhmet to stand beside Emma, who had also risen, taking some small comfort from her presence though she was obviously unsettled by this unknown side of her teacher, "Mr. Moseby sent me to find you. We've been invited to dine with the hotel manager since it's our last night and he wanted us all back in time to get ready."

Noticing that Bailey hadn't answered her second question she asked it again.

Bailey shuffled her feet a little and fiddled with her hands, clearly not wanting to answer.

"_Can't you sense it for yourself, sister?_" Sekhmet laughed, drawing Emma's eyes to her, "_This little one is part cat. A were-panther, if that story you told me was true. The beast she killed was probably some minor god, or demigod, and the mixing of their blood has changed her. Though she is not fully awakened. Not yet, but she is close to it. She must have followed your scent._"

Emma's head whipped back around to study Bailey and she opened her senses as far as she currently could. She gasped when she felt the simultaneously familiar yet completely alien tug within her that told her Bailey was one of her kind, one of her chosen ones, a feline in the blood. And suddenly she had all the answers to the questions about Bailey's altered nature; her mood swings, her agility, her new and sudden strength and ferocity, even the rare times when she'd become exceedingly affectionate and sought Emma out to hold her...all of it could be traced back to her fight with the giant panther. She should have realized it sooner. She could have helped Bailey much more effectively had she been able to sense this for herself or even just remembered that such things while rare were still possible. Perhaps being away from home for thirty years had effected her more deeply than she'd thought.

"Miss Tutweiller," Bailey shifted uncomfortably under two intense gazes, "We need to go if we're going to make it back in time."

That shook Emma out of her thoughts and she turned regretful eyes on her student, "I'm sorry, Bailey, but I won't be going back with you."

Bailey pursed her lips but shrugged, "Mr. Moseby said if I couldn't find you that you'd come back to the hotel eventually to make the flight back."

Emma took a breath and placed her hands on Bailey's shoulders, "You misunderstand. I'm not going back at all. I'm staying here. In Egypt."

"_You would abandon her, sister?_" Sekhmet asked with heavy disapproval lacing her tone, "_Without telling her what's become of her? I had thought better of you._"

Emma hissed back at her sister, "_I have no choice! You said yourself that Ra needs my help. What am I to do?_"

"_Keep her!_" Sekmet growled back, her leonine nature showing more prominently in her bared teeth and fierce tone, "_Train her._"

"You can't stay!" Bailey broke in, her voice tight with fear. She stepped close to Emma and held her weapon in a gesture to ward off Sekhmet and spoke in a low voice, "If you need help to get away from her-" With a little tick of her weapon Bailey indicated her willingness to fight their way out and Emma was oddly touched by that.

"_She has the heart of a warrior,_" Sekhmet, who'd understood the motion for what it was, purred with warm approval for the young woman, "_If you won't have her, I will train her myself. I could use one so courageous._"

Emma laid a calming hand on Bailey's weapon hand, a move familiar to both of them as she'd stopped Bailey's more violent impulses with the same motion hundreds of times before, and shook her head. "She isn't forcing me to stay. She's my sister. And I have duties here."

Bailey looked startled and took a moment to study the woman who looked nothing like her teacher as she sheathed her machete. Dark brown skin, brown eyes, and black hair complimented the woman's straight nose and square jaw. Her height and muscular build further distanced herself from any likeness to Miss Tutweiller. "The one who stole your fiancé?"

Emma bristled when Sekhmet laughed. "That's not...entirely accurate. She stole many people from me, that's true, but none were my betrothed," Emma said. When Bailey looked more confused than before Emma continued, "I'm not who you think I am. I'm not 'Emma Tutweiller'. I'm called Bastet. And this is my sister, Sekhmet. When she showed up she took a great many of my worshipers. I couldn't say that as a mere human so telling you she stole my fiancé was the closest I could come to the truth." Sekhmet had collapsed into a chair shaking with such powerful laughter that she'd gone silent while Emma huffily crossed her arms over her chest.

Bailey stood with her mouth agape, "You're Bastet? Ancient Egyptian goddess of protection and cats? And she's Sekhmet, goddess of warfare and destruction?"

Both Emma and Sekhmet grumbled at being described so simply. Emma said, "We gods are more complex than that. But yes, those are some of the things you humans ascribed to us."

Bailey sat heavily in the chair Emma had occupied earlier. "I don't believe it," her voice somehow managed to be awed and skeptical at the same time.

Sekhmet solved that problem by dropping the glamor that gave her a human appearance revealing to Bailey her lionness head adorned with a headdress bearing a sun disk. Then she spoke in English, "Believe it, little kitten. We're goddesses and we've a war to fight. Bastet must stay to help us triumph over Apophis."

Bailey squeaked and shot up from her chair with her weapon held out in front of her, the other two hadn't even seen her draw it from its sheath again. "Miss Tutweiller, please, can't we just go? Mr. Moseby will be worried for us."

Emma put her hands on Bailey's shoulders again and shook her head, "Sekhmet is right. I can't leave. Not when so much depends on my being here."

"Then let me stay, too!" Bailey cried, tears welling in her eyes, "I could be useful. You've seen what I can do with this thing," she gripped her machete a little tighter, "And I'm strong. So much stronger than I was before. Please," she pleaded as she looked deeply into Emma's eyes.

"No," Emma said, "You aren't ready. And you're too young to drag into this." Emma ignored the low growl coming from Sekhmet and the answering frustrated growl from Bailey. "You have so much life to live and so much to learn, about yourself and the world. I can't let you stay, Bailey. I won't."

The tears Bailey fought back now spilled freely down her cheeks as she said brokenly, "I can't lose you, too. I won't survive it."

Emma felt like she'd been punched in the stomach. Bailey had already lost so much. Her three closest friends had been brutally killed right in front of her. She'd fought for her life, killed to save herself, and had been much changed because of it. Emma hadn't even considered what losing herself might do to Bailey, knowing she'd been the only real support the girl had with her anymore. She gathered the sobbing girl into her arms and stroked her hair while murmuring gentle nonsense sounds to soothe her. "What am I to do with you?" she whispered.

"_If I may make a suggestion?_" Sekhmet said quietly once more speaking their native tongue. She ran her fingers lightly over the head of the urn and looked meaningfully at Emma with a quirked brow.

A flash of insight and Emma knew what Sekhmet intended. It could work. It would work. It had to.

"Bailey," Emma said softly, "Hush now. I'm not going to abandon you. Not now, not ever. But sweetie, I still have to stay here and you still aren't ready to join in my fight."

Bailey pulled back to protest but was quelled by Emma's lifted hand. Emma turned to her urn and lifted the lid, a soft glow spilling from it and making Bailey's eyes go wide. Her eyes nearly popped out of her skull when Emma reached into the urn and pulled a fully grown cat from the narrow opening and set it on the table. It took Bailey a moment to get over her shock but she soon recognized the cat as Mr. Whiskers, whom she'd met before. "I don't understand."

"You aren't ready to join my fight here but that doesn't mean you can't be made ready. If it's what you want," Emma was careful to add. "Mr. Whiskers can teach you everything you'll need to know. Help you with the changes you're already going through and train you to master yourself. When you leave, he'll go with you. And when you're ready, if you ever are, he'll lead you back to me."

Bailey sat slowly back in the chair and Emma could see she was thinking hard. She watched as Bailey reached a hand out to Mr. Whiskers and lightly scratch the top of his head until he emitted a rumbling purr that made them all smile. Finally, Bailey nodded. "Okay. Okay. If you really think I'm not ready, I'll do this instead." She looked up and held Emma's eyes fiercely, "You promise me that I'll see you again someday?"

Emma felt unexpected tears start in her eyes, she'd been human too long, and she nodded. She stepped forward and cupped Bailey's face in her hands, studying the young woman's face for a long moment, and bent to kiss Bailey's forehead. Through the kiss she cast a spell over Bailey, one the young woman wouldn't even know was there, to hide her memory of this encounter until the time was right. Mr. Whiskers would teach Bailey as the girl slept, connecting to her dream self and training her in the ways of a warrior of Bastet and in the changes her were-form would put her through, but Bailey would think them just dreams until the time was right, if it ever was, and she would awaken with a full memory of all of this and make the choice to join the fight or live her life as a regular human.

Emma and Sekhmet watched Bailey leave in a daze, cradling Mr. Whiskers in her arms. "_Did I do the right thing?_"

"_You did what you had to,_" Sekhmet reassured, "_You've given her a chance to have a normal life. The rest is up to her._" She slung a friendly arm around her sister's shoulders, "_Come. We have much preparation to do if you're to join in the battle tomorrow morning._"

Emma sighed and picked up the urn containing the rest of her cats, she'd release them when she reached her temple, and left at her freshly disguised sister's side. The little adobe house fading from existence as they got farther away from it.

***'***

_Ten Years Later_

Bailey woke from her dream in a sweat, her whole body tense and her teeth bared in a growl as phantom images of an army of reptiles chased her from her dreams of pyramids and goddesses.

She sat up and locked eyes with her cat, they were glowing yellow the same way hers sometimes did, and was slammed backwards by the force of the memory of how she'd acquired him. She gasped as her mind was flooded with other memories. How she got the scars on her back, discovering her teacher was actually an ancient goddess, learning she'd become something not quite human, the promise she'd been made, thinking her teacher had disappeared in Egypt never to be seen again, and endless hours of training supervised by the same cat sitting alert at the foot of her bed. Image after image, lesson after lesson, all crashing through her head at once until the deluge slowed to a trickle, then to nothing. She lay on her bed gasping, tears leaking from the corners of her eyes.

She sat up again, this time reaching to her bed post to grab down her trusty machete, then locking eyes with the cat she knew was much more than a cat.

"Take me to her, Whiskers."

The cat gave one long, deep meow then leaped into Bailey's lap and they both disappeared in a flash of light.

***'***

When Bailey next opened her eyes she was on the bank of a reed strewn river, the Nile her mind supplied...or its spiritual equivalent, and looking straight at Emma Tutweiller standing proud on the deck of a boat dressed for war in leather and metal with several large cats prowling around her feet.

Whiskers emitted a much louder and longer yowl and drew Emma's attention immediately.

Bailey's heart soared when a radiant smile blossomed on Emma's face.

An instant later and she stood on the deck before her former teacher unsure of how she got there and not really caring because she was distracted by Whiskers growing in size to join the prowling pride of big cats already stalking the planks and Emma's jubilant grin. The goddess, of course, hadn't aged a day.

The two women stared at each other with silly smiles on their faces.

Sekhmet suddenly appeared behind Emma, looking over her shoulder with a bright grin. "_I knew you'd be back. I told Bastet you had the heart of a warrior._" And though she spoke her native language Bailey understood every word and she smiled for it. Then Sekhmet gave Emma a light shove which sent her crashing into Bailey's arms, an embrace that began as a rescue quickly turned into an embrace of welcome and joy.

"You're here," Emma said with wonder, looking awed into Bailey's eyes, "You're actually here."

Surprising them both, Bailey replied in the ancient tongue, "_There's nowhere else I would rather be._" And as she spoke she knew it was true. She'd lived these last ten years trying to be normal but always feeling as though something had been missing, and now standing with an actual goddess in her arms she finally felt as though she was where she belonged.

Impulse swept over her, feelings that had been growing inside of her for over a decade washing away all her inhibitions, and she held Emma tightly and pressed a tender kiss to Emma's lips.

Emma sighed and melted into Bailey. She hadn't expected this but intimacy was not something she'd be turning away, she'd gone far too long without the touch of a lover and even longer without a lover who had chosen her true self above all others.

They'd be spending all of eternity fighting Apophis' hordes soon enough but in that moment, and in many moments that would be stolen throughout the years, they were truly and finally completely happy.

**THE END**

*****'*****

_**A/N:**__ OMG I've lost my mind. Inspired by Jane Lindskold's 'The Buried Pyramid' and my story "Of Man and Monster" from last year's Halloween collection._


End file.
